Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 423 Dear Ritas
After a whole winter break, Ritas returned to his most loyal Spring City.

Since the time he spent living in Spring City and Erles Academy was almost equal to the time he spent living in the Westerlands, Ritas sometimes couldn't fairly judge whether the Westerlands or Spring City was closer to his "home."

Of course, when asked about his origins, he would still identify himself as a person from the West.

"Although you mentioned things like correcting the world line at the meeting, isn't it already too late?"

"I was just saying it casually at the time."

When the Elson family's carriage stopped outside Ritas's mansion in the northern suburbs of Spring, he and the Goddess of Bath couldn't help but sigh as they stepped down carrying the disc.

From their current position, they could clearly see in the distance the Erles Academy, whose entire area shimmered due to the overlapping World Tree maze.

With the night falling, Earls College had a bit of the feel of a city that never sleeps.

Even if the goddess of bathing didn't say it, Ritas could be certain that in the "Star Pattern" game, Erles Academy had never become what it is now.

"Am I just imagining things? Why does it look like there's a tower-like thing over at the academy?"

"It's not an illusion, Goddess of Bathing. I saw that beam of light too."

At this moment, in the center of Erles Academy, which radiates golden light, stands a golden tower that reaches straight into the sky.

If nothing unexpected happens, it's probably because our dear headmaster has nothing better to do than stir up some trouble in the academy again.

Because he was worried that if no one kept an eye on the headmaster, the entire academy would be thrown into chaos, Ritas had originally planned to stay in the Western Territory for a while before returning. However, as it turns out, plans don't always go as expected.

In addition, the "Tree Witch" is not the only old rascal in the academy now; there is also the "Pioneer." Ritas, who cannot imagine what changes have taken place in the academy in the past few months, is starting to have little desire to return.

After roughly moving the luggage into the mansion, he personally escorted Ritas and his party back to Dino, the head butler of the Elson family in Spring City, and then prepared to take his leave and return home.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot to tell the young master about this. The young master's personal attendant will arrive in Spring City in about five days. Since she needs to come from the capital, I hope the young master will not mind her lateness."

"Personal attendant?"

Ritas raised an eyebrow slightly, but before he could say he didn't need it, Dino added.

"Now, you are the young master of the Elson family, Young Master Ritas. Therefore, even for the sake of the family, please allow your entourage to be equipped with a dedicated person. I also know that the young master does not like noise. Therefore, there will only be one attendant, and I guarantee that he will be one of the most outstanding young people in the family. Moreover, as the first legendary mage in the family, the family also needs someone to record your legendary deeds."

Dino, who was not at all senile, continued to persuade her clearly and decisively.

After a moment's thought, Ritas sighed and nodded.

After returning home this time, many things changed. His relationship with the Elson family could no longer be viewed through the lens of the past.

Moreover, for Elson's escort team, tailing him is probably the most pointless thing to do at this stage. Therefore, Dino's proposal is purely for his benefit, and he has indeed come up with the most suitable solution for him.

"She came from the capital. Could she be someone of great importance? I'm not so narrow-minded that I can't tolerate others, so I don't need the best person to take care of me."

Although he knew his family wouldn't harm him at this stage, Ritas still felt they might do something terrible to him, he said warily.

"Please rest assured, she is just an ordinary family member who grew up in the Western Region. She is currently in the capital only for temporary work."

Dino, his eyes almost closed, assured Ritas in a way that made Ritas even more uneasy.

Fortunately, after learning more detailed information, Ritas confirmed that Mookie Elson, who was more like an all-around assistant than an attendant, was indeed fine.

So, after noting this down, Ritas watched Dino and the Elson family's convoy leave.

A short while later.

Since it was too late, Ritas suggested that Miriam and Pearl stay at his manor for the night.

"Although I don't know whether you are an instrument or a piece of furniture, nor do I know whether you will become a student of Erls, since you are under my jurisdiction, you cannot share a bedroom with Miriam."

Seeing that Pelph was taking it for granted that she would go back to the house with Miriam, Ritas warned her.

Actually, if I had to say something, it wouldn't seem like there would be any major problems, after all, Miriam is...!
Thinking of this, Ritas couldn't help but rub his forehead. His earlier words seemed to be bouncing back at him.

Perhaps having thought of something, a snickering sound, as if the goddess of bathing were eager to stir up trouble, emanated from the white disc.

"I will stand in the corridor, protecting the Holy Son."

"Although my suggestion was to go to another room, it's up to you."

I have a feeling that if Perfume really transfers to Erles Academy, she will most likely appear in her class as Ritas, and I'm already worried about my future life at the academy.

While Ritas and Perf were talking, Miriam kept looking in other directions.

His expression didn't seem to be one of distraction, but rather one of increasing seriousness.

"professor."

Reminded by Miriam, Ritas, who also noticed the strangeness around the mansion, became solemn.

"Thinking about it carefully, it's somewhat inappropriate for you to stay at my residence. So, it would be better if you went somewhere else tonight. Fortunately, the Church of the Bathing Goddess is not far away, so you can stay there for the night. Your Excellency, the Evangelical Fellowship shouldn't have any rules against staying in other church facilities, right?"

"Although not... but...?" "Huh?"

Ritas's abrupt dismissal puzzled both Perfume and the Goddess of Bath.

Miriam, on the other hand, looked uncertain and hesitant.

"Don't worry, this is my home, the safest place in the city for me."

Since the incident occurred around Ritas's mansion, it means that Ritas was the only target from the beginning. Therefore, Ritas didn't want Miriam to get involved.

Looking at Ritas, who seemed to have regressed to "mentor mode" after returning to Spring City, Miriam looked somewhat helpless.

However, upon closer reflection, it really wasn't his place to worry about Professor Ritas. So, Miriam nodded and led Pearl away from the vicinity of the mansion, heading towards the Baptistery.

"Huh? What's going on? The atmosphere has suddenly become so heavy—"

It wasn't until Miriam and Perf had completely disappeared that the Goddess of Bath belatedly realized that Ritas might be being watched.

The goddess of the bath was surprised that, under normal circumstances, Miriam's perception seemed to be more acute than Ritas's. She was also puzzled that, even now, someone would dare to harbor malice towards Ritas in Spring City, beneath Ers's feet.

Moreover, judging from Ritas's level of caution, those who are targeting Ritas are probably not the three psychopaths and "Abandoned Lottery" who wreaked havoc in Spring City last year.

It's unclear whether it's because Ritas's mansion is located in a remote northern suburb, or if some special force is driving others away.

At this moment, under the quiet night sky, the entire area was deserted. Until, a figure broke the silence.

From a distance, a graceful lady slowly walked towards them, dressed entirely in white, wearing a long, aristocratic-style dress, a round, wide-brimmed hat, and gloves.

While it may look odd if someone's clothing is too revealing, wearing too much clothing will obviously look unnatural.

The atmosphere surrounding this woman in white is the latter.

Besides her body, which was so tight that almost no skin was exposed and her neck was covered by a high collar, her face was also covered by a semi-transparent white veil.

Under the full moon, a woman in white slowly walked in, exuding an aura of "nothing is simple".

Ritas, who also turned his gaze to the other party, frowned deeply and furrowed his brows.

"Huh? Hu ...

Before Ritas could react to the approaching woman, the goddess of the bath suddenly cried out.

In such a critical moment, the goddess of bathing would normally not interfere with Ritas. But, in truth, something incredibly strange happened at this moment.

"How could this be?! It's her! It's Ms. Faith!"

If you ask who "Faith" is, she's the one whom the goddess of the bath recently talked about in detail about the mandatory two-choice situation this semester, but didn't mention much besides "Archangel Phoebe".

The goddess of the bath hadn't expected that, no sooner had they mentioned Fei Si than she appeared right in front of them.

Moreover, this was all happening in a tense atmosphere.

As they drew closer, they naturally noticed that Ms. Faith from Ritas quickened her pace.

She looked travel-worn, as if she had just arrived in Spring City from out of town. However, she carried nothing of the sort, not even a pouch.

"Ritas~"

After getting even closer, Ms. Faith actually called out Ritas's name directly.

After "Faith" spoke, the Goddess of Bath couldn't help but think to herself, "Hmm?"

Because of this voice, and the one she remembered...
She didn't know how to describe it; it was like Faith's voice was impaired due to illness, but she still insisted on squeezing her throat to make a sound.

"Dear~"

"Huh—!?"

After closing the distance again, Faith, who was now only a dozen steps away from Ritas, actually used even more intimate words.

As Faith approached, the Goddess of Bath thought to herself, "Hmm?"

Is Ms. Faith really this tall? Even without her hat, she's a head taller than Ritas.
"I really miss you so much!"

Before the goddess of the bath could figure out what was wrong with Ms. Faith, a scene that made her doubt her own eyes even more unfolded.

Ritas, whose face looked terrible, stretched out his arm and clamped his hand on Faith's face as she tried to rush up and hug him.

"Ah this."

Furthermore, while Faith was still in a daze, he immediately began to unleash elemental magic and burn her.

"Ugh ugh ugh ugh!!!"

Faith's entire face was ablaze with fury, and she made strange, beast-like noises. As her hat fell off, a cascade of her hair scattered on the ground.

"????"

What's going on? That sound...something's wrong! Faith's scalp was ripped off by Xiao Li!?
In just a few minutes, so many unbelievable things happened that even the goddess of bathing began to have her brain shut down.

It was precisely at this unexpectedly absurd moment that Miriam and Ritas, having sensed the "malice," finally decided to take action.

All around the Ritas mansion, huge boulders, about half the size of a person, flew towards them at lightning speed, like cannonballs.

Moreover, the flying stones were not just one or two, but dozens or even hundreds.

Without even glancing at "Feis," who was frantically fanning herself to put out the fire, Ritas immediately deployed more than a dozen layers of incredibly sturdy protective barriers, relying on the pre-prepared supplies in the mansion.

However, the power of these flying rocks was clearly much greater than it appeared. Therefore, when the boulders struck the protective barrier, in addition to the loud bangs, there was also a lot of sound of brittle objects shattering.

Ritas's protective barrier was constantly being broken down and rebuilt, and in a short period of time it even looked somewhat precarious.

As if to deliver the final blow to the already weakened Ritas, a figure swiftly stepped on the stones that flew like cannonballs, approaching Ritas's side like a black lightning bolt in the air, and then swung two huge stone hammers in his hands, smashing them down to the ground.

From the weakest point of Ritas's protective barrier, Ritas stared at the real attacker of the night, and instinctively tried to throw the disc in his hand.

It was at this moment that Faith, who had unknowingly extinguished the anger on her face, stood up.

The goddess of bathing then noticed that, while being attacked, Ritas had actually been protecting this person the whole time.

"Although I don't know what happened, for the sake of my dear 'junior'..."

Faith pulled a large wand, as long as an arm, from her chest as if by magic.

At this moment, Faith revealed her true voice. It was a deep, androgynous tone, yet clearly masculine.

"Let me show you who the last practical mage of this peaceful era is!"

The moment the hammer struck, a purple light accompanied a sudden unfolding of a protective barrier shaped like a prismatic crystal, centered on Faith.

The next instant, a deafening roar echoed through the sky.

Even as the surrounding ground shook, the crystal barrier withstood the hammer-wielding man's attack perfectly, without even a single corner chipped off.

"Since you recognize me, why not give me a warm welcome? Otherwise, if you accidentally mistake me for someone else, wouldn't a terrible tragedy occur?"

Faith, beaming with pride and holding her large wand, flashed two rows of white teeth and smiled at Ritas.

Ritas completely ignored "her," focusing his gaze on the attacker dressed in gray clothes covered with vine-like patterns. His expression showed confusion as to why the attacker was targeting him, followed by a sudden realization that the attacker dared to make a move in Spring City. He directly identified the attacker.

"'The Stone Whisperer'."

(End of this chapter)